“You’re right. I see them.” As the bus came to a stop in front of Kaylyn’s house, she stepped back on the porch, leaning in close to him. “Are you and Chance both having issues with this?”
“Me? I was concerned about the idea of a polyamorous relationship, but not now. I believe we have something special.”
“And what about Chance?”
Jaris heard the bus door open. “Remains to be seen, but I’m not going to give up on him so easily. He loves Kaylyn, and he loves me like a brother.” Listening intently, he could tell that Chance and Annie were exiting the bus. “It will work.”
“I’m sure you’re right.”
“Hi, Nicole.” Chance’s tone seemed softer than it had been this morning when he’d left so quickly. Had he reconsidered everything?
“Hey, Chance.” Nicole bent down and patted Chance’s companion on the head. “Hi, Annie. Fellas, I’m going to check the perimeter one more time. When you three are ready to head to town, just let me know.”
“Thanks, Deputy. For everything.” Jaris was glad to have such a good friend in his corner.
“Where’s Kaylyn?” Chance asked after Nicole had walked off.
“Getting ready. She should be out in about thirty.”
“Good. T
hat’ll give you and I time to talk. First I want to talk to you about this Bayless character. Are you sure about his credentials?”
“Jena, Sean, and Matt are still digging into them, but they’ve found nothing out of the ordinary so far. Why?”
“Something happened at the ranch. The guy is a total prick when it comes to his training style with his dogs. Lyle saw him kick one of his dogs. I confronted Bayless about it and he didn’t deny a thing but became very defensive about his methods. The bastard wanted to keep his dogs in cages by the RV that Emmett provided for him, but I put my foot down. Reluctantly, Bayless gave in. His dogs are in our kennels now.”
“Fuck, I had a feeling there was something up with Bayless. What about the dogs? Are they trained?”
“Actually, yes. They are very well trained. Lyle and I ran some preliminary testing on them. They passed with flying colors.”
“That’s one good thing at least. Until we know the full story on Bayless, we need to keep close tabs on him at all times.”
“Lyle and the Stones are on it.”
“Perfect. Another good thing in our favor is Potter left town this morning.” Jaris recounted to Chance what Nicole had said to him about Kaylyn’s shooter.
“Maybe Potter and his friends are telling the truth.” Chance’s tone told him that he was still unsure. “Any sign of our four dogs?”
“No. Jacob Phong and his cousin Josh are still searching. The sheriff had to pull the rest of the team back to security detail for Dragon Week.” Jaris was losing hope that Rex, Blue, King, and Rosie would ever be found. Their disappearance remained a mystery.
“I still believe with Lunceford’s psychotic obsession and hate of Destiny that the monster is going to make a move during Dragon Week. I know he’s gunning for Belle. Shane and Corey will make sure she remains safe. It’s our job to make sure the same is true for Kaylyn. I don’t want her to get hurt in any crossfire. I want to be with her during the rest of Wolfe Mayhem’s performances. Onstage. Jaris, you and I need to stay close to Kaylyn.”
“I completely agree.” Time to get straight to the point. “Have you given any thought to what Kaylyn wants?”
“That’s about all I have thought about, buddy.” Chance sighed. “Talk about a crazy place. Destiny is like no other.”
He grinned. “That’s something you can bank on.”
“You know about Phase Four, right?”
Jaris couldn’t believe his ears. Had Chance picked up on Kaylyn’s desire to experience BDSM? “Yes. What about it?”
“Did you know that a big majority of citizens are members of the club? Where else but Destiny?”
“Does that bother you, Chance?”
“Not at all. I just find it unusual. Hell, why should I? The normal family makeup here is not the traditional one man and one woman. Poly relationships are the standard.”